Prediction of Erosion Due to Solid Particle Impact in Single-Phase and Multiphase Flows

Solid particle erosion of metal surfaces is a major problem in several fluid handling industries due to unpredicted equipment failure and production loss. The prediction of erosion is difficult even in a single-phase flow. The complexity of the problem increases significantly in a multiphase flow due to the existence of different flow patterns where the spatial distribution of the phases changes with the change of phase flow rates. Earlier predictive means of erosion in single and multiphase flows were primarily based on empirical data and were limited to the flow conditions of the experiments. A mechanistic model has been developed for predicting erosion in single-phase and multiphase flows considering the effects of solid particle impact velocities that cause erosion. Local fluid velocities and simplified equations are used to calculate erosion rates assuming a uniform distribution of solid particles in the liquid phase in the multiphase flow. Another assumption was that the solid particle velocities are similar to the velocity of the fluids surrounding the particles. As the model is based on the physics of multiphase flow and erosion phenomenon, it is more general than the previous models. The predicted erosion rates obtained by the mechanistic model are compared to experimental data available in the literature showing a reasonably good agreement.